1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to food applicators and more particularly pertains to a new portable, hand held condiment dispenser for dispensing a condiment onto an item of food.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The use of food applicators is known in the prior art. More specifically, food applicators heretofore devised and utilized are known to consist basically of familiar, expected and obvious structural configurations, notwithstanding the myriad of designs encompassed by the crowded prior art which have been developed for the fulfillment of countless objectives and requirements.
Known prior art food applicators include U.S. Pat. No. 5,328,509. Additionally, U.S. Pat. No. 5,213,431; U.S. Pat. No. 5,051017; U.S. Pat. No. Des. 346,112; U.S. Pat. No. 4,021,125 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,030,844 teach roll-on dispensers for dispensing personal care products, such as deodorant. However, these references only dispense personal care products, and therefore do not include releasable dispensing heads or refillable containers.
While these devices fulfill their respective, particular objectives and requirements, the aforementioned patents do not disclose a condiment dispenser. The inventive device includes a container holding a condiment, a valve controlling the flow of condiment from the container, and a releasably attached dispensing head, permitting use of different types of dispensing heads. The container includes a removable filling cap permitting the container to be refilled with a condiment. Alternatively, the container can be a pliant tube which can be squeezed in order to discharge the condiment from the container.
In these respects, the condiment dispenser according to the present invention substantially departs from the conventional concepts and designs of the prior art, and in so doing provides an apparatus primarily developed for the purpose of dispensing condiments onto items of food.